Biden to nominate Merrick Garland as AG

Biden to nominate Merrick Garland as AG

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate federal appeals judge Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. attorney general, a Biden transition official said on Wednesday.

Most Americans know Garland as the 2016 Supreme Court pick of President Barack Obama but whose nomination was blocked by Republicans.

This report produced by Jillian Kitchener.

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate judge Merrick Garland to serve as his attorney general.

That’s according to a Biden transition official, Wednesday.

Many Americans know Garland as the judge President Barack Obama picked for the Supreme Court in 2016.

But his nomination was blocked by Senate Republicans on the grounds the appointment should not occur in a presidential election year... a stance that came under intense criticism at the time… And then again in 2020 when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rushed to confirm President Donald Trump's nominee Amy Coney Barrett after the death of liberal icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

That confirmation - coming just days before the presidential election.

Garland – who has served on the federal appeals bench since 1997 - is no stranger to the Justice Department.

He previously served as principal deputy associate attorney general.

And - worked as a federal prosecutor where he helped secure a conviction against Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh.

He was also on the team that helped secure a conviction of former DC Mayor Marion Barry for cocaine possession.

Garland, as attorney general, will have significant power to address issues Biden has pledged to prioritize, like ending the use of the federal death penalty and restoring the Justice Department's role of investigating and holding police departments accountable for "systemic misconduct."